


to the end of his days

by lloydsglasses



Series: all ur favs are ace [2]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Aromantic, Aromantic Character, Asexual Bilbo Baggins, Asexual Character, Asexuality, Character Study, Gen, If You Squint - Freeform, Implied Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, like you could read it however you want really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 03:47:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3595179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lloydsglasses/pseuds/lloydsglasses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has always seemed to Bilbo that other hobbits have taken an interest in his bachelorhood, but in nearly a century no one has outright asked him about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	to the end of his days

**Author's Note:**

> Because the world needs more aro/ace Bilbo fic.
> 
> I have played with the timeline a little bit in regards to age.

It’s a young Meriadoc who eventually asks the question.

He and Frodo are fidgeting excitedly as Bilbo casts a critical eye over them both. He may be known as ‘Mad Baggins’ nowadays but he’s not so mad that he’ll allow a child in his care to look less than presentable for an occasion such as this. One should always look one’s best for a wedding (until the drinking starts, at any rate). Besides, Bilbo rather thinks that Esmeralda Brandybuck would have some very stout words for him if she were to see her son emerge from Bag End looking any less pristine than when he had been found knocking on the door that morning, asking giddily if Frodo had time to play before the festivities began.

“Mr. Bilbo, why have you never been married?”

In truth, Bilbo is surprised that the question has never been asked before. Oh it’s been _mentioned_ , of course; he’s lived with the subtle hints and reminders since he came of age. ‘You can start looking to build your family now, young Master Bilbo,’ his uncle Longo shouted across the buffet table at Bilbo’s thirty-third birthday party. ‘Not met anyone who’s taken yer fancy yet?’ teased the baker when, a few hours before a fateful encounter with a wizard, he went to collect his bread from her. ‘It’s a shame you’ve never found anyone to share that great big smial o’ yours with, Mister Baggins’, remarked Hamfast Gamgee, as he cheerfully tended to Bilbo’s begonias while Bilbo sat puffing on his pipe and planning another trip to Rivendell. Yes, it has always seemed to Bilbo that other hobbits have taken an interest in his bachelorhood, but in nearly a century no one has outright asked him about it.

“For the simple reason that I have never wanted to, Master Merry,” Bilbo hums, reaching out to flatten down some of Frodo’s wilder curls.

“But why not?” Merry persists, eyes wide with the open curiosity that only children possess.

Frowning, Bilbo thinks about this for a moment. He has never deeply examined his lack of desire for marriage, particularly not after returning from his adventure in the east. Perhaps before he’d gone running off into the blue he’d assumed that he would eventually have to settle down, but since his return he has been firm in his conviction that such a life is simply not for him. How does one find a way to explain the total absence of desire for something to a child of Merry’s age?

“Well, I have been quite happy on my own all these years. I hardly think marriage would make me more so. If I were married I wouldn’t be able to go off on exciting adventures whenever I wanted to, would I? And then who would tell you stories about dragons and trolls?” He cracks a grin at the two children.

“But there is nothing more exciting than falling in love,” Merry asserts, with the conviction of child reciting a truth of utmost importance. “My mother says so. She says that when you’re older you fall in love with someone else. And then you can get married and live together and you’ll both be really happy.” He punctuates his statement with a short nod before frowning at Bilbo quizzically. “Don’t you want to do that?”

Bilbo pauses, thinking briefly of deep blue eyes and long dark hair, but he dismisses such thoughts almost immediately. He is not such a fool to mistake what he felt for Thorin for love, nor is he even certain it would have grown into that, had things been different. However, he is certain that he could not trade his beautiful garden and the rolling green hills of the Shire for the oppressive darkness of a mountain kingdom. Bilbo’s contentment does not depend on the love of another person, but on the open road and the warmth of a welcoming hobbit hole to return to.

“Uncle Bilbo doesn’t need to get married for that! He lives with me!” Frodo’s indignant voice interrupts his reverie, and he blinks down at the pouting child. Well, thinks Bilbo, maybe he was a little hasty in supposing he can’t depend on others for his own happiness.

“Right you are Frodo, my lad! And what more do we need than a few good books, our walking sticks and each other for company, eh?” He grins down at the boy, receiving a blinding smile in return.

“Well now, come on, both of you,” Bilbo says, motioning the two faunts towards the door, “we don’t want to keep everyone waiting, do we?”

As Frodo and Merry rush out down the path as fast as their tiny legs will carry them, Bilbo casts a quick glance over to his study. His eyes catch on the clutter of his desk, where maps and parchment lie scattered across his open journal, and a sturdy walking stick stands propped against the leg of his chair. A soft smile pulls at his lips.

 _Yes,_ Bilbo thinks, _what more do we need?_

**Author's Note:**

> I have [ tumblr. ](http://lloydsglasses.tumblr.com) Come hang with me and we can cry about Bilbo together.


End file.
